Facebook account no longer needed for Spotify log-in in Germany

As of today, new Spotify users in Germany no longer need a Facebook account to sign up for the music player's service.

German music fans can now access the service armed with just an email address and a username. But the existing Facebook log-in details will remain in place, "for easy access to a truly social music experience," a Spotify spokeswoman said.

Germany isn't exactly a prime market for Spotify or Facebook, carrying less than 30 percent of its population on the social network, according to analytics company SocialBakers.

"We are introducing this new sign-up option in order to offer non-Facebook-connected users in Germany a choice of ways to access Spotify," the Spotify spokeswoman said.

Last autumn, Spotify and Facebook teamed up to bring music discovery to social network users -- by broadcasting your listening habits to your Facebook friends.

But when users' sometimes-embarrassing playlists began popping up on their public Facebook timelines, outrage ensued. A week later, the companies implemented the Spotify "private listening" feature, allowing users to hide guilty-pleasure playlists from Facebook.

There is no word on whether the new sign-up feature will be rolled out to other countries yet, but a spokeswoman said the company remains "absolutely committed to our global strategic partnership with Facebook."